Interior rearview mirror assembly with full mirror video display

ABSTRACT

A vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly includes a mirror head pivotally adjustable about a mirror support. The mirror head includes a mirror reflective element having a transflective mirror reflector. A video display device is disposed rearward of the mirror reflective element. A touch sensor is disposed at the mirror reflective element and is associated with circuitry at a flexible printed circuit of the video display device. The video display device is operable to display video images captured by a rearward viewing camera of the vehicle. Light emitted by the video display device passes through the transflective mirror reflector for viewing of displayed video images by the driver of the vehicle viewing the mirror reflective element. The mirror reflective element, at the reflective region of the transflective mirror reflector, reflects at least 40 percent of visible light incident at the front side of the mirror reflective element.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/949,177, filed Oct. 19, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,279,288,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/578,685,filed Sep. 23, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,807,536, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/635,627, filed Jun.28, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,421,404, which claims the filing benefitsof U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/355,460, filed Jun. 28,2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/635,627 also is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,302,filed Jun. 24, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,046,706, which claims thefiling benefits of U.S. provisional applications, Ser. No. 62/237,716,filed Oct. 6, 2015, and Ser. No. 62/185,206, filed Jun. 26, 2015, whichare hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of interiorrearview mirror assemblies for vehicles and, more particularly, tointerior rearview mirror assemblies with a display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is known to provide a mirror assembly that is adjustably mounted toan interior portion of a vehicle, such as via a double ball pivot orjoint mounting configuration where the mirror casing and reflectiveelement are adjusted relative to the interior portion of a vehicle bypivotal movement about the double ball pivot configuration. The mirrorcasing and reflective element are pivotable about either or both of theball pivot joints by a user that is adjusting a rearward field of viewof the reflective element. It is also generally known to provide adisplay screen at the mirror assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an interior rearview mirror assembly thatincludes a mirror casing, a mirror reflective element and a displaydevice disposed behind the mirror reflective element and operable todisplay information for viewing by the driver of the vehicle through themirror reflective element. The mirror reflective element comprises atransflective mirror reflector whereby the mirror reflector reflectslight that is incident on the reflective element and partially transmitsillumination emitted from the display device through the mirrorreflective element. The mirror assembly includes a polymer reflector orfilm disposed between the mirror reflective element and the displayscreen. The polymer reflector or film converts linearly polarized light(that is emitted by the display screen) to circularly polarized light(that passes through the reflective element). The display screen ordisplay area of the display device generally encompasses or spans theheight and width of the mirror reflective element and may occupy atleast 75 percent of the electro-optically active reflective area of themirror reflective element.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of a video display device for aninterior rearview mirror assembly in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the video display device of FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 3 is a sectional of an interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a sectional of another interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional of another interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional of another interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional of another interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional of another interior rearview mirror assembly inaccordance the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a video display device of thepresent invention, showing use of an optical film that changes thelinearly polarized light that is emitted by the display device tocircular polarized light;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the video display device of the presentinvention, showing the reflected light as circularly polarized light;

FIG. 10 is a graph of the spectral reflectance of light at the opticalfilm of the video display device of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a graph of the spectral reflectance of light at a metal thinfilm mirror reflector; and

FIG. 12 is a graph of the spectral reflectance of light at an opticalfilm bonded to a metal thin film mirror reflector.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, an interior rearview mirror assembly 10 for a vehicle includesa casing 12 that houses a reflective element 14 and a display device 16,which provides a display area 15 visible to the driver of the vehiclethrough the reflective element 14 (FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In the illustratedembodiment, the mirror assembly 10 is configured to be adjustablymounted to an interior portion of a vehicle (such as to an interior orin-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield or a headliner of a vehicle orthe like) via a mounting structure or mounting configuration or assembly18. The casing 12 of the interior rearview mirror assembly 10 may houseall or a portion of the components of the interior rearview mirrorassembly 10 and may be integrally formed with portions thereof.

The principal or main viewing area of the full display video mirror hasthe same or slightly better field of view of a typical rearview mirror(minimum of about 20 degrees). This image could be 1:1 scale of what areflected image would be. The left and right end zones may be delineatedby a divider overlay image. Those end zones would display a distortedimage so that a greater horizontal and/or vertical field of view can beseen. This would be similar to a convex or aspheric or “flat to bent”reflector. This could be tuned to reduce/eliminate blind zones betweenthe exterior rearview mirror view and the interior rearview mirror view.Also, those end zones could have different display modes, such as, forexample, a “trailering mode” or the like, where the zones couldpotentially show the edges of the road (with overlay of car edges oractual edges) so at a glance the driver can see how the equipped vehicleis centered in the lane. The display may include a “1:1 mode” that wouldturn off the dividers if that is annoying to some drivers. The mirrorassembly and video display device may utilize aspects of the assembliesand devices described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,855,755 and/or U.S. PublicationNo. US-2016-0375833 and/or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/613,357,filed Jun. 5, 2017, and published Dec. 14, 2017 as U.S. PatentPublication No. US-2017-0355312, and/or U.S. provisional applicationSer. No. 62/501,263, filed May 4, 2017, and/or PCT Application No.PCT/IB17/52542, filed May 2, 2017 and published Nov. 9, 2017 asInternational Publication No. WO 2017/191558, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The mirror reflective element 14 of the interior rearview mirrorassembly 10 may comprise an electro-optic mirror reflective and thedisplay device 16 is disposed at a rear surface of the electro-opticmirror reflective element for emitting illumination and displayingimages and/or other information at the display area 15. In theillustrated embodiment, the display area 15 encompasses substantiallyall of the reflective element 14, such that the display area 15 issubstantially the same size as the visible reflective surface. Forexample, the display area 15 may occupy at least 75 percent of the areaof the visible reflective surface of the reflective element (or theelectro-optically active region of the reflective element), preferablyat least 85 percent of the area of the visible reflective surface of thereflective element, and more preferably at least 95 percent of the areaof the visible reflective surface of the reflective element. The displaydevice 16 is disposed at the rear surface of the electro-optic mirrorreflective element 14, with a mirror reflector film or layer disposed atthe front surface of the rear substrate (commonly referred to as thethird surface of the reflective element) and opposing an electro-opticmedium, such as an electrochromic medium disposed between the front andrear substrates and bounded by a perimeter seal. Optionally, the mirrorreflector could be disposed at the rear surface of the rear substrate(commonly referred to as the fourth surface of the reflective element),while remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The mirror reflector comprises a transflective mirror reflector andprovides a substantially reflective layer at the display area 15, whilebeing at least partially transmissive of light or illumination emittedby display device 16, as discussed below. The transflective mirrorreflector is partially transmissive of visible light therethrough andpartially reflective of visible light incident thereon and, thus, thepresence of the video display device behind the reflective element isrendered covert by the transflective mirror reflector and informationdisplayed by the video display device is only viewable through themirror reflector and reflective element when the video display device isactivated or backlit to display such images and/or information forviewing by the driver of the vehicle when the driver is normallyoperating the vehicle.

In the illustrated embodiment, the electro-optic mirror reflectiveelement 14 of the interior rearview mirror assembly 10 includes a frontsubstrate and a rear substrate spaced from front substrate with theelectro-optic medium (such as an electrochromic medium) and transparentconductive or semi-conductive layers (such as described below)sandwiched between the substrates (with the transparent conductive layerdisposed at a rear surface of front substrate [the second surface of thelaminate electro-optical element] and the transparent conductive layerdisposed at the front surface of rear substrate [the third surface ofthe laminate electro-optical element]). For example, the conductivelayers may comprise an indium tin oxide (ITO) material or a thinmetallic layer sandwiched between two transparent conductive layers (aTC/M/TC stack of layers) such as ITO/Metal/ITO (for example, ITO/Ag/ITO)or a doped tin oxide or a doped zinc oxide or the like, so as to providethe desired conductivity and transparency at the second and thirdsurfaces of the fourth surface reflector reflective element or cell. Anelectrical sheet resistance of less than about 20 ohms/square ispreferred for such transparent conductor layers; more preferably lessthan about 15 ohms/square and most preferably less than about 10ohms/square, while visible light transmission through such transparentconductive coated substrates is preferably at least about 70% T, morepreferably at least about 75% T and most preferably is at least about80% T. An epoxy seal material or the like is applied between thesubstrates to define the cavity for the electrochromic medium and toadhere the substrates together.

The display device is operable to display video images captured by arearward viewing camera, such as a camera mounted at a rear portion ofthe vehicle or that views through a rear window of the vehicle so as tohave a rearward field of view rearward and at least partially sidewardof the vehicle. The camera may capture images during normal operation ofthe vehicle, such as when the driver of the vehicle drives the vehicleforwardly along a road. Video images are displayed by the display deviceduring such normal operation, such as to provide enhanced rearwardviewing that encompasses regions not viewable to a driver of a vehicleviewing a conventional interior rearview mirror assembly. The displaydevice may also display other information to the driver, such asadvanced driver assistance system (ADAS) information or the like, suchas via text or images or icons or indicia displayed at or over orinstead of the video images, depending on the particular situation anddesired display appearance. Optionally, the system may determine thatthe mirror head is not adjusted for proper rearward viewing or forviewing of displayed images, and the display device may display amessage (such as text or indicia or the like) to alert the driver toadjust the angle of the mirror head for optimum or enhanced viewing bythe driver.

Optionally, the display system of the present invention may operate toadjust the field of view of the rearward viewing camera so that thedesired or appropriate view is displayed at the video display device.For example, the field of view may be angled or aimed upward orgenerally horizontal for highway or “normal” driving, and may be angledor aimed downward for parking driving situations. The field of view maybe adjusted by mechanically adjusting the camera or by displayingdifferent portions of a wide angle field of view of the camera (such asby displaying only a lower region of the captured image data for parkingmaneuvers).

In the illustrated embodiment, the display device 16 comprises a displaymodule having a display screen (such as a multi-pixel LCD panel/screenbacklit by a plurality of LEDs) and a circuit element (such as a printedcircuit board or the like, such as a silicon substrate having circuitryestablished thereon) disposed at the rear of the display screen. Circuitboard has circuitry established thereat (such as by establishing thecircuitry at or on a silicon substrate using CMOS technology or thelike), and such circuitry may be configured for controlling the displayfunctions and for controlling the dimming or variable reflectance of thereflective element.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 2A, the display device 16 includes a front glasssubstrate 16 a and a rear glass substrate 16 b, with the circuitryassociated with the display being disposed at a flexible printed circuit(FPC) 16 c. The circuitry includes display power supply components anddisplay driver IC and other circuitry associated with powering andcontrolling or reconfiguring the display device. In the illustratedembodiment, the back display glass extends below the front glass at acentral region, so that the connector and circuitry is disposed at acentral region below the active display area. When disposed behind amirror reflective element, the reflective element may have a centralchin portion that extends down to generally encompass the lower regionof the back display glass and the FPC.

For example, and such as shown in FIG. 3 , the reflective element 14 mayhave a front glass substrate 20 and a rear glass substrate 22, with thefront glass substrate extending downward (beyond a lower perimeterregion of the rear glass substrate) so as to provide an overhang regionat the lower portion of the reflective element at the central lowerregion of the back display glass 16 b. The reflective element is nestedin the mirror housing or casing 24 with the display device disposedbehind the reflective element and in the mirror casing. The FPC 16 c isrouted below the backlight and its heat sink and within the mirrorcasing, where it can be electrically connected to circuitry of themirror assembly or to a wire harness or the like for electricallypowering the video display device.

In the illustrated embodiment, the lower region of the front substrate20 of the reflective element has a printed graphics applique andcapacitive touch sensor (and optionally a light guide for backlightingthe applique and sensor), such as for a user input to allow the driverof the vehicle to turn on and off the display device and/or turn on andoff the dimming mirror and/or the like. In an EC mirror construction,the overhang region below the rear substrate and perimeter EC sealprovides space for such a sensor or sensors and the like in front of thelower region of the rear display glass and connection with the FPC.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the reflective element 14′ comprises a thirdsurface reflector mirror with a metallic partially reflective andpartially light transmissive reflector disposed at the front surface ofthe rear substrate (the “third surface” that opposes the EC medium orSPM layer). The reflective element 14′ also includes a thin polymerreflector (such as a Wavista film commercially available from Fujifilm)disposed at the mirror reflector (such as an EC mirror reflector stackcomprising multiple layers or coatings to provide the desired degrees oflight transmission and reflection of light incident thereon). Forexample, the Wavista and reflector stack 21 (which may comprise multiplethin layers of partially transmissive and/or partially reflectivelayers) may have the Wavista film adhered at the front surface of therear glass substrate with the reflector coatings or stack disposed overthe Wavista film, or the reflector coatings or stack may be disposed atthe front surface of the rear glass substrate, with the Wavista filmestablished over the reflector coatings/stack.

The rear glass substrate may comprise any suitable glass substrate, suchas a substrate having a thickness of around 2 mm or thereabouts.Optionally, the rear substrate may comprise Gorilla glass, which mayhave a thickness of between about 0.4 mm and 1.1 mm. Such an applicationof Gorilla glass provides a weight reduction to the mirror and mayprovide an increase in strength of the mirror reflective element thatmay provide enhanced head impact protection. The Wavista and reflectorstack may be disposed at the front surface of the Gorilla Glasssubstrate. The thin rear substrate allows for the reflector stack to bedisposed at the front surface and the Wavista film to be disposed at therear surface of the thin rear glass substrate.

As shown in FIG. 4 , for a flat or planar single substrate reflectiveelement, a thin film metal reflector coating stack is disposed at therear surface of the mirror substrate, and a polymer reflector (such as aWavista film commercially available from Fujifilm) is adhered at themetal reflector via a layer of adhesive (such as a very thin layer ofabout 15 microns or thereabouts) so as to optically couple the polymerreflector with the metal transflective reflector. The front glass of thevideo display device is optically coupled with the polymer reflector viaan optical coupling adhesive (such as a thin layer of optical siliconeor acrylic), which may be bounded by a structural seal or adhesive tocontain the optical adhesive and to provide the desired or appropriategap or spacing for the optical adhesive. Optionally, the display screenmay be optically bonded to the mirror substrate with or without thepolymer reflector disposed therebetween. Because the adhesive layers andreflector layers are quite thin, there is little space between the lowerregion of the mirror substrate and the lower region of the display backglass for the touch sensor and backlighting. Optionally, a spacer may beprovided to space the video display device rearward of the polymerreflector a sufficient amount to allow for the touch sensor andbacklighting. Optionally, the rear surface of the lower region of themirror substrate may be ground to provide a recess or indentation toprovide additional spacing for the touch sensor and backlighting.

The polymer reflector functions to convert linear polarized light (suchas emitted by the video display device) to circularly polarized light(see FIGS. 8 and 9 ), and provides the reflective characteristics shownin FIG. 10 , showing three discrete bands of light reflected byindividual polymer layers within the Wavista optical film stack at 8degrees. For example, and such as shown in FIG. 8 , light emitted by themirror-shape cut or formed TFT display screen may be horizontallypolarized, and, as it passes through a Wavista optical film, the lightis converted to circularly polarized light. Optionally, the polymerreflector and video display device may be implemented at the rear of amirror glass substrate without a metal reflector at the rear surface ofthe mirror substrate (such as shown in FIG. 4 ). The addition of a metalreflector (FIG. 5 ) at the rear of the mirror substrate enhances thereflectivity and is still partially transmissive, and also partiallyneutralizes the color of the reflected image (that may otherwise betinted due to the polymer reflector characteristics). A graphicalrepresentation of the reflective characteristics at 8 degrees of a thinfilm metal reflector is shown in FIG. 11 and of a hybrid polymerreflector optically coupled to the thin film metal reflector is shown inFIG. 12 . When the polarization of the display output is aligned withthe polarization of the film/reflector, the mirror reflective elementand display construction can achieve up to about 90% T and up to about40% R to 50% R.

Optionally, and such as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the video displaydevice may be spaced from the polymer reflector via a perimeterstructural adhesive that at least substantially circumscribes thedisplay front glass of the display device, such that there is an air gap(no optical adhesive) between the display front glass and the polymerreflector at the active display region of the display device.

The mirror assembly of the present invention thus provides enhancedlight transmission through the reflective element assembly, so that thedisplay screen may be viewable with reduced backlighting power. Becausethe display screen has cross dimensions so as to substantially encompassthe reflective area or active area of the reflective element, thedisplay screen, when backlit by a plurality of powered light emittingdiodes, may generate significant heat. Thus, an increase in lighttransmission provided by the Wavista polymer layer allows for reducedpowering of the LEDs, which results in reduced heat generation by thedisplay screen. For example, with a Wavista polymer layer and reflectorstack at a single substrate reflective element assembly or an undimmedelectro-optic reflective element assembly may allow for at least about35 percent light transmission and at least about 40 percent reflectivityof light incident at the reflective element assembly. Preferably, themirror reflective element assembly, with a Wavista polymer layer(disposed behind a single substrate of a fixed reflectance mirrorreflective element assembly or disposed behind the electro-optic mediumof a variable reflectance mirror reflective element assembly) asdescribed herein, provides at least about 40 percent visible lighttransmission or at least about 50 percent visible light transmission andup to about 60 percent visible light transmission, while also providingat least about 60 percent visible light reflectance, or at least about50 percent visible light reflectance or at least about 40 percentvisible light reflectance. Such a mirror reflective element assemblythus is twice as transmissive to visible light as known transflectivemirror reflective elements, which typically are up to around 25 percentlight transmissive (or less).

The polymer layer provides enhanced visible light transmission andenhanced visible light reflectance, which allows the display screen tobe operated at reduced power (and thus generating a reduced amount ofheat). The addition of the Wavista polymer layer allows for use of amore transmissive transflective reflector or stack without such useresulting in the display screen being viewable through the reflectiveelement by a driver of the vehicle viewing the mirror reflective elementwhen the display screen is not activated.

Because the display screen may be active for prolonged periods of time,the mirror head and/or display screen or module preferably includes heatdissipating means, such as a heatsink or the like. Optionally, thehousing may comprise a heat reducing or heat dissipating material, suchas aluminum, plastic and/or magnesium or the like. In addition, themounting bracket to the windscreen or windshield may be thermallyconnected, in order to increase the heat dissipation from the module.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the reflective element may include an opaque hidinglayer or perimeter metallized band at the periphery of the rear surfaceof the front substrate, in order to hide the perimeter seal from view (asimilar perimeter band is shown in FIGS. 4-7 , but at the rear of thesingle mirror substrate to hide the casing and other elements of thedisplay device). Optionally, a perimeter hiding layer or band or maskmay be disposed at the fourth surface (the rear surface of the rearsubstrate of an electro-optic reflective element) to hide elements ofthe display device.

Optionally, the circuit board may also be coupled with a photo/glarelight sensor established rearward of the display device for providing aviewing angle capable to sensing glare on the display area, such as in alocation rearward of the display screen and forward (as in forward withrespect to the direction of the travel of the vehicle) of the frontglass substrate for detecting or sensing the light (such as ambientlight or glare light) at the mirror reflective element and the displaydevice 16. The sensor may be disposed behind the front substrate (suchas at an overhang region where the cross dimension of the frontsubstrate is greater than the cross dimension of the rear substrate), sothat the sensor is not behind the display screen or the electro-optic(such as electrochromic) medium.

The glare light sensor may be integrated with an ON/OFF user input ortouch sensor behind the front glass substrate that is configured toactuate based on a touch event at an exterior surface of theelectro-optic mirror reflective element. This integration reduces theoverall dimensions of the mirror and optimizes light sensor position,namely, it places the light sensor closer to the first surface of frontsubstrate of the reflective element, which allows for a wider viewingangle. Such a sensor may also be positioned at alternative locations andmay also be used to sense night-time driving conditions of the vehicle,such as relative light conditions, headlights, and other conditionsindicative of night-time driving. For instance, the glare light sensormay be integrated above the plane of the backlit thin film transistor(TFT)-LCD display screen or panel. With respect to the user inputintegrated with the sensor, the input or sensor may provide capacitiveor optical detection of a finger, may include light management films toprevent backlight from affecting the sensor, and may include colorapplique, printed, or laser etched graphics. The user input or sensorand mirror assembly may utilize aspects of the sensors and mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,154,418 and/or InternationalPublication Nos. WO 2011/044312; WO 2012/051500 and/or WO 2013/071070,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

The display device, such as shown in FIG. 3 , may be disposed behind anelectro-optic reflective element and is operable to display images andinformation for viewing by the driver of the vehicle through thetransflective mirror reflector coating. The display area of the displayscreen is sized to substantially encompass the electro-optically activeregion (the region bounded by the perimeter seal) of the mirrorreflective element. The display device 16 may comprise any suitabledisplay device, such as a video display device, and such as amulti-pixel display screen (such as a backlit dot matrix liquid crystaldisplay or a thin film transistor or TFT display screen) that is backlitby a plurality of illumination sources, such as a two dimensional arrayof a plurality of white light-emitting light emitting diodes or thelike. The display device may utilize aspects of the display-on-demandtransflective type displays and/or video displays or display screens ofthe types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,890,955; 7,855,755; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 7,046,448; 5,668,663;5,724,187; 5,530,240; 6,329,925; 6,690,268; 7,734,392; 7,370,983;6,902,284; 6,428,172; 6,420,975; 5,416,313; 5,285,060; 5,193,029 and/or4,793,690, and/or in U.S. Pat. Pub. Nos. US-2006-0050018;US-2009-0015736; US-2009-0015736 and/or US-2010-0097469, which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

As discussed above, the mirror assembly may comprise an electro-optic orelectrochromic mirror assembly that includes an electro-optic orelectrochromic reflective element. The perimeter edges of the reflectiveelement may be encased or encompassed by the perimeter element orportion of the bezel portion to conceal and contain and envelop theperimeter edges of the substrates and the perimeter seal disposedtherebetween. The electrochromic mirror element of the electrochromicmirror assembly may utilize the principles disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190;6,690,268; 5,140,455; 5,151,816; 6,178,034; 6,154,306; 6,002,544;5,567,360; 5,525,264; 5,610,756; 5,406,414; 5,253,109; 5,076,673;5,073,012; 5,117,346; 5,724,187; 5,668,663; 5,910,854; 5,142,407 and/or4,712,879, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Although shown as an electrochromic mirror application, it is envisionedthat the mirror assembly may comprise a prismatic or flat glassreflective element, while remaining within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. For example, the full display mirror may comprise afixed reflectance or non-electro-optic reflective element, such as aflat or planar glass reflective element or the like, with atransflective mirror reflector disposed at a rear surface of thereflective element. The reflective element may comprise a thin chromelayer and may comprise a dielectric mirror that is transparent andreflective, such as, for example, at least about 35 percent reflective(such as, for example, about 42 percent reflective or thereabouts).Optionally, the second surface of the LCD display screen may comprise areflector to enhance reflectance of the mirror reflective element.Optionally, the front glass at the LCD display screen may compriseGorilla glass or other suitably durable and thin and strong glasssubstrate.

Optionally, the reflective element may comprise a prismatic reflectiveelement, and the prismatic mirror assembly may be mounted or attached atan interior portion of a vehicle (such as at an interior surface of avehicle windshield) via any suitable mounting means, and the reflectiveelement may be toggled or flipped or adjusted between its daytimereflectivity position and its nighttime reflectivity position via anysuitable toggle means, such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,318,870 and/or 7,249,860,and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2010-0085653, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Optionally, forexample, the interior rearview mirror assembly may comprise a prismaticmirror assembly, such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,420,756; 7,289,037; 7,274,501; 7,249,860; 7,338,177 7,255,451;7,289,037; 7,249,860; 6,318,870; 6,598,980; 5,327,288; 4,948,242;4,826,289; 4,436,371 and/or 4,435,042, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. A variety of mirror accessoriesand constructions are known in the art, such as those disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,555,136; 5,582,383; 5,680,263; 5,984,482; 6,227,675;6,229,319 and/or 6,315,421 (which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties), that can benefit from the presentinvention.

Optionally, the reflective element may include an opaque orsubstantially opaque or hiding perimeter layer or coating or banddisposed around a perimeter edge region of the front substrate (such asat a perimeter region of the rear or second surface of the frontsubstrate) to conceal or hide or the perimeter seal from viewing by thedriver of the vehicle when the mirror assembly is normally mounted inthe vehicle. Such a hiding layer or perimeter band may be reflective ornot reflective and may utilize aspects of the perimeter bands and mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,066,112; 7,626,749; 7,274,501;7,184,190 and/or 7,255,451, and/or International Publication Nos. WO2010/124064 and/or WO 2011/044312, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Aspects of the display device and mirror reflective element constructionof the present invention may also be used in video mirrors such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,057,875 and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2014-0347488, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein intheir entireties. In such video mirrors that utilize a full-screen ornear full-screen video display, an actuator device may be adjustable totilt a mirrored glass element in one direction, thereby moving themirrored glass element to an off-axis position which approximatelysimultaneously changes the on/off state of a video display module. Theactuator device is also adjustable to tilt the glass element in anotherdirection, thereby moving the glass element to an on-axis position whichapproximately simultaneously changes the on/off state of the displaymodule. The mirror assembly and display and adjustment may utilizeaspects of the mirror assemblies described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,205,780,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The display device may also be controlled or operable in response to aninput or signal, such as a signal received from one or more cameras orimage sensors of the vehicle, such as a video camera or sensor, such asa CMOS imaging array sensor, a CCD sensor or the like, and imageprocessors or image processing techniques, such as utilizing aspects ofthe cameras and image processors described U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677;5,670,935; 5,760,962; 6,498,620; 6,396,397; 6,222,447; 6,201,642;6,097,023; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,715,093; 6,922,292; 6,757,109;6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 7,004,606 and/or 7,720,580, and/or U.S.Pat. Pub. Nos. US-2006-0171704; US-2009-0244361 and/or US-2010-0214791,and/or International Publication Nos. WO 2009/046268 and/or WO2009/036176, which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties, or from one or more imaging systems of the vehicle,such as a reverse or backup aid system, such as a rearward directedvehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,550,677; 5,760,962; 5,670,935; 6,201,642; 6,396,397; 6,498,620;6,717,610 and/or 6,757,109, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a trailer hitching aid or tow checksystem, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,005,974, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, a cabin viewingor monitoring device or system, such as a baby viewing or rear seatviewing camera or device or system or the like, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. 5,877,897 and/or 6,690,268, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties, a video communication device orsystem, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, and/or the like. Theimaging sensor or camera may be activated and the display screen may beactivated in response to the vehicle shifting into reverse, such thatthe display screen is viewable by the driver and is displaying an imageof the rearward scene while the driver is reversing the vehicle. It isenvisioned that an image processor or controller (such as an EYEQ™ imageprocessing chip available from Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd. ofJerusalem, Israel, and such as an image processor of the types describedin International Pub. No. WO 2010/099416, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety) may process image data captured bythe rearward facing camera to assess glare lighting conditions (such asto detect headlights of following vehicles that may cause glare at theinterior and/or exterior rearview mirror assemblies of the equippedvehicle), and the controller may adjust or control the dimming of theelectro-optic mirror assembly or assemblies of the equipped vehicleresponsive to such image processing.

The mirror assembly may also include user actuatable inputs operable tocontrol any of the accessories of or associated with the mirror assemblyand/or an accessory module or the like. The user input may incorporateone or more touch or proximity sensitive user inputs and associatedicons or the like so a user can readily identify the purpose or functionof the user inputs and actuate the appropriate or desired or selecteduser input. For example, the mirror assembly may include touch sensitiveelements or touch sensors or proximity sensors, such as the types oftouch sensitive elements described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,594,222;6,001,486; 6,310,611; 6,320,282; 6,627,918; 7,224,324 and/or 7,253,723,and/or International Publication Nos. WO 2012/051500 and/or WO2013/071070, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, or such as proximity sensors of the types described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 7,224,324; 7,249,860 and/or 7,446,924, and/or InternationalPublication No. WO 2004/058540, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, or such as membrane type switches, suchas described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,360,932, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, or such as detectors and the like,such as the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,541; 6,504,531;6,501,465; 6,492,980; 6,452,479; 6,437,258 and/or 6,369,804, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and/or thelike, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The mirror assembly may comprise any suitable construction, such as, forexample, a mirror assembly with the reflective element being nested inthe mirror casing and with a bezel portion that circumscribes aperimeter region of the front surface of the reflective element, or withthe mirror casing having a curved or beveled perimeter edge around thereflective element and with no overlap onto the front surface of thereflective element (such as by utilizing aspects of the mirrorassemblies described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451; 7,289,037; 7,360,932;8,049,640; 8,277,059 and/or 8,529,108, or such as a mirror assemblyhaving a rear substrate of an electro-optic or electrochromic reflectiveelement nested in the mirror casing, and with the front substrate havingcurved or beveled perimeter edges, or such as a mirror assembly having aprismatic reflective element that is disposed at an outer perimeter edgeof the mirror casing and with the prismatic substrate having curved orbeveled perimeter edges, such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,508,831;8,730,553; 9,598,016 and/or 9,346,403, and/or U.S. Publication Nos.US-2014-0313563 and/or US-2015-0097955, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties (and with electrochromic andprismatic mirrors of such construction are commercially available fromthe assignee of this application under the trade name INFINITY™ mirror).

Optionally, the mirror assembly may include one or more otheraccessories at or within the mirror casing, such as one or moreelectrical or electronic devices or accessories, such as antennas,including global positioning system (GPS) or cellular phone antennas,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,552, a communication module,such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,688, a blind spot detectionsystem, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,transmitters and/or receivers, such as a garage door opener or the like,a digital network, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, ahigh/low headlamp controller, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, a video devicefor internal cabin surveillance and/or video telephone function, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote keylessentry receiver, lights, such as map reading lights or one or more otherlights or illumination sources, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,690,268; 5,938,321; 5,813,745; 5,820,245; 5,673,994; 5,649,756;5,178,448; 5,671,996; 4,646,210; 4,733,336; 4,807,096; 6,042,253;5,669,698; 7,195,381; 6,971,775 and/or 7,249,860, microphones, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,657,052; 6,243,003; 6,278,377 and/or6,420,975, speakers, antennas, including global positioning system (GPS)or cellular phone antennas, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,971,552, a communication module, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,798,688, a voice recorder, a blind spot detection system, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786and/or 5,786,772, transmitters and/or receivers, such as for a garagedoor opener or a vehicle door unlocking system or the like (such as aremote keyless entry system), a digital network, such as described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,798,575, a high/low headlamp controller, such as acamera-based headlamp control, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,796,094 and/or 5,715,093, a memory mirror system, such as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,796,176, a hands-free phone attachment, an imagingsystem or components or circuitry or display thereof, such as an imagingand/or display system of the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos.7,400,435; 7,526,103; 6,690,268 and/or 6,847,487, and/or U.S. Pat. Pub.No. US-2006-0125919, a video device for internal cabin surveillance(such as for sleep detection or driver drowsiness detection or the like)and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,760,962 and/or 5,877,897, a remote keyless entry receiver, a seatoccupancy detector, a remote starter control, a yaw sensor, a clock, acarbon monoxide detector, status displays, such as displays that displaya status of a door of the vehicle, a transmission selection (4wd/2wd ortraction control (TCS) or the like), an antilock braking system, a roadcondition (that may warn the driver of icy road conditions) and/or thelike, a trip computer, a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) receiver(such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,124,647; 6,294,989; 6,445,287;6,472,979; 6,731,205 and/or 7,423,522, and/or an ONSTAR® system, acompass, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,212; 4,862,594;4,937,945; 5,131,154; 5,255,442 and/or 5,632,092, and/or any otheraccessory or circuitry or the like (with all of the above-referencedpatents and publications being commonly assigned and being herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties).

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments maybe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vehicular interior rearview mirrorassembly, the vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly comprising: amirror head adjustable about a mirror support; wherein the mirrorsupport is configured to attach at an interior portion of a vehicleequipped with the vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly; whereinthe mirror head comprises an electrochromic mirror reflective elementhaving a transflective mirror reflector that at least partially reflectslight incident thereon and at least partially transmits incident lighttherethrough; wherein the electrochromic mirror reflective element has afront side and a rear side, and wherein, with the mirror supportattached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the front sideis closer to a driver of the equipped vehicle than the rear side;wherein the electrochromic mirror reflective element comprises a frontglass substrate and a rear glass substrate with an electrochromic mediumdisposed therebetween, and wherein the front glass substrate has a firstglass surface and an opposing second glass surface that is separatedfrom the first glass surface by a thickness dimension of the front glasssubstrate, and wherein the rear glass substrate has a third glasssurface and an opposing fourth glass surface that is separated from thethird glass surface by a thickness dimension of the rear glasssubstrate, and wherein the second glass surface and the third glasssurface oppose the electrochromic medium, and wherein the transflectivemirror reflector is disposed at the third glass surface of the rearglass substrate; wherein the front side of the electrochromic mirrorreflective element comprises the first glass surface of the front glasssubstrate; wherein the electrochromic mirror reflective element is atleast partially nested within a mirror casing of the mirror head, andwherein no part of the mirror casing overlaps onto the first glasssurface of the front side of the electrochromic mirror reflectiveelement; a video display device disposed rearward of the electrochromicmirror reflective element; wherein the video display device comprises adisplay screen; wherein circuitry associated with the display screen isdisposed on a flexible printed circuit that is electrically connected atthe display screen; wherein a touch sensor is disposed at theelectrochromic mirror reflective element, and wherein the touch sensoris associated with circuitry at the flexible printed circuit; whereinthe display screen of the video display device occupies at least 85percent of a reflective region of the transflective mirror reflectorthat, with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of theequipped vehicle, is viewable by the driver of the equipped vehicle whenviewing the electrochromic mirror reflective element; wherein, with themirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle,the video display device is operable to display video images captured bya rearward viewing camera of the equipped vehicle; wherein, with themirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle,and when the video display device is operated to display video images,light emitted by the video display device passes through thetransflective mirror reflector of the electrochromic mirror reflectiveelement for viewing of displayed video images by the driver of theequipped vehicle viewing the electrochromic mirror reflective element;wherein a polymer reflector layer is disposed between the front side ofthe electrochromic mirror reflective element and the video displaydevice, and wherein the polymer reflector layer converts linearlypolarized light emitted by the video display device to circularlypolarized light as the light emitted by the video display device passesthrough the polymer reflector layer; and wherein, with the mirrorsupport attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, theelectrochromic mirror reflective element, at the reflective region ofthe transflective mirror reflector that is viewable by the driver of theequipped vehicle when viewing the electrochromic mirror reflectiveelement, reflects at least 40 percent of visible light incident at thefront side of the electrochromic mirror reflective element that isviewable by and touchable by the driver of the equipped vehicle.
 2. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein thefront glass substrate of the electrochromic mirror reflective elementcomprises an exposed rounded perimeter edge that provides a curvedtransition between the first glass surface of the front glass substrateand an outer surface of the mirror casing.
 3. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the mirror casingcircumscribes a perimeter edge of the front glass substrate and providesa curved transition between the first glass surface of the front glasssubstrate and an outer surface of a side wall of the mirror casing. 4.The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein thedisplay screen comprises a liquid crystal display screen.
 5. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 4, wherein thedisplay screen is backlit by at least one light emitting diode.
 6. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 5, wherein the atleast one light emitting diode for backlighting the display screencomprises a plurality of light emitting diodes.
 7. The vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein, with the mirrorsupport of the vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly attached atthe interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the flexible printedcircuit is disposed within the mirror head rearward of theelectrochromic mirror reflective element.
 8. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the mirror support isconfigured to attach at a mirror mounting button attached at an in-cabinside of a windshield of the equipped vehicle.
 9. The vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the display screen isoptically coupled with the polymer reflector layer via an opticaladhesive.
 10. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim1, wherein light emitted by the video display device exits theelectrochromic mirror reflective element as circularly polarized light.11. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 1, wherein,with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equippedvehicle, the electrochromic mirror reflective element, at the reflectiveregion of the transflective mirror reflector that is viewable by thedriver of the equipped vehicle when viewing the electrochromic mirrorreflective element, transmits at least 35 percent of visible lightemitted by the video display device.
 12. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 1, wherein the video display device comprises aheatsink configured to draw heat away from the display screen.
 13. Avehicular interior rearview mirror assembly, the vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly comprising: a mirror head pivotally adjustableabout a mirror support; wherein the mirror support is configured toattach at an interior portion of a vehicle equipped with the vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly; wherein the mirror head comprises amirror casing and a mirror reflective element having a transflectivemirror reflector that at least partially reflects light incident thereonand at least partially transmits incident light therethrough; whereinthe mirror reflective element has a front side and a rear side, andwherein the front side of the mirror reflective element comprises afirst glass surface, and wherein, with the mirror support attached atthe interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the front side is closerto a driver of the equipped vehicle than the rear side; wherein no partof the mirror casing overlaps onto the first glass surface of the frontside of the mirror reflective element; a video display device disposedrearward of the mirror reflective element; wherein the video displaydevice comprises a display screen; wherein circuitry associated with thedisplay screen is disposed on a flexible printed circuit that iselectrically connected at the display screen; wherein a touch sensor isdisposed at the mirror reflective element, and wherein the touch sensoris associated with circuitry at the flexible printed circuit; whereinthe display screen of the video display device occupies at least 85percent of a reflective region of the transflective mirror reflectorthat, with the mirror support attached at the interior portion of theequipped vehicle, is viewable by a driver of the equipped vehicle whenviewing the mirror reflective element; wherein, with the mirror supportattached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle, the videodisplay device is operable to display video images captured by arearward viewing camera of the equipped vehicle; wherein, with themirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle,and when the video display device is operated to display video images,light emitted by the video display device passes through thetransflective mirror reflector of the mirror reflective element forviewing of displayed video images by the driver of the equipped vehicleviewing the mirror reflective element; wherein a polymer reflector layeris disposed between the front side of the mirror reflective element andthe video display device, and wherein the polymer reflector layerconverts linearly polarized light emitted by the video display device tocircularly polarized light as the light emitted by the video displaydevice passes through the polymer reflector layer; and wherein, with themirror support attached at the interior portion of the equipped vehicle,the mirror reflective element, at the reflective region of thetransflective mirror reflector that is viewable by the driver of theequipped vehicle when viewing the mirror reflective element, reflects atleast 40 percent of visible light incident at the front side of themirror reflective element that is viewable by and touchable by thedriver of the equipped vehicle.
 14. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 13, wherein the display screen comprises aliquid crystal display screen.
 15. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 13, wherein the display screen is backlit by atleast one light emitting diode.
 16. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 15, wherein the at least one light emittingdiode for backlighting the display screen comprises a plurality of lightemitting diodes.
 17. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly ofclaim 13, wherein, with the mirror support of the vehicular interiorrearview mirror assembly attached at the interior portion of theequipped vehicle, the flexible printed circuit is disposed within themirror head rearward of the mirror reflective element.
 18. The vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein the mirrorsupport is configured to attach at a mirror mounting button attached atan in-cabin side of a windshield of the equipped vehicle.
 19. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein thedisplay screen is optically coupled with the polymer reflector layer viaan optical adhesive.
 20. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assemblyof claim 13, wherein light emitted by the video display device exits themirror reflective element as circularly polarized light.
 21. Thevehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein, withthe mirror support attached at the interior portion of the equippedvehicle, the mirror reflective element, at the reflective region of thetransflective mirror reflector that is viewable by the driver of theequipped vehicle when viewing the mirror reflective element, transmitsat least 35 percent of visible light emitted by the video displaydevice.
 22. The vehicular interior rearview mirror assembly of claim 13,wherein the video display device comprises a heatsink configured to drawheat away from the display screen.
 23. The vehicular interior rearviewmirror assembly of claim 13, wherein the mirror reflective elementcomprises a prismatic glass substrate comprising (i) the first glasssurface that comprises the front side of the mirror reflective elementand (ii) a second glass surface that is separated from the first glasssurface by a thickness dimension of the prismatic glass substrate, andwherein the transflective mirror reflector is disposed at the secondglass surface of the prismatic glass substrate.
 24. The vehicularinterior rearview mirror assembly of claim 13, wherein the mirrorreflective element comprises a front glass substrate and a rear glasssubstrate with an electrochromic medium disposed therebetween, andwherein the front glass substrate comprises (i) the first glass surfacethat comprises the front side of the mirror reflective element and (ii)an opposing second glass surface that is separated from the first glasssurface by a thickness dimension of the front glass substrate, andwherein the rear glass substrate has a third glass surface and anopposing fourth glass surface that is separated from the third glasssurface by a thickness dimension of the rear glass substrate, andwherein the second glass surface and the third glass surface oppose theelectrochromic medium, and wherein the transflective mirror reflector isdisposed at the third glass surface of the rear glass substrate.